SUBEB chairman ordered to refund N747.2m

The Zamfara House of Assembly has ordered Alhaji Murtala Jangebe, the Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), to refund N747.2million to the board’s accounts.

The order was contained in a report presented to the House on Monday by a special committee set up to investigate the operation and financial activities of SUBEB.

The committee said the amount was allegedly misappropriated from the SUBEC account by the chairman.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee was set up in the wake of allegations of high profile fraud that rocked the board in the last two years.

The committee further recommended the prosecution of Jangebe and all those found guilty in the scam for what it called “criminal disregard for laid down financial regulations“.

The report, a copy of which was made available to NAN, was unanimously adopted by the House.

The committee, led by Alhaji Aliyu Kagara, representing Mafara 11 constituency, told the House that after investigations, it was discovered that the board, under the leadership of Jangebe, had been operating 15 separate accounts with different banks.

He said the committee audited seven out of the 15 accounts with the assistance of the state auditor general as a co-opted member in order to give its findings a professional touch.

It added that under the “pensions account“ operated by the board in Eco Bank, the chairman allegedly made illegal expenditure of N148.6million without the consent of the board or approval of the Governor.

“The chairman also deliberately went ahead, without the resolution of the board’s permanent members and approval of Governor, to divert N100million out of pensions funds to a fixed account.

“This is indeed a serious financial misuse of public funds as stated by pension reform act of 2004,’’ the report said.

The committee further revealed that under the “salary account` of the board operated with the UBA, it discovered illegal expenditure of N65.7million.

An example of such payments, the committee added, was the N8.6million paid to one Sani Mailafiya as “miscellaneous expenditure” without any supportive document.

“These expenditures covered payments made without vouchers and other necessary supportive documents,’’ it said.

The report said the chairman also furnished the committee with an inflated monthly salary expenditure of education authorities in 14 local government areas as N284.4million.

“After scrutiny by our committee, it was discovered that the actual monthly salary payments to all 14 local government LEA staff is N264.6million, leaving a difference of N19.7million,’’ it stated.

“It was discovered that after auditing all teaching and non-teaching staff under SUBEB in October 2011, the sum of N14.9million was recovered as left over but the amount was diverted for personal use by the chairman.”

The report also stated that it discovered unaccounted expenditure of N378.1million under the “Teachers’ Profession Account“ operated in Sterling Bank.

It was revealed that “out of the N150 million received by SUBEB from UBEC in 2011 as training funds between October and December 2011, the chairman made several withdrawals from the account to the tune of N145million without vouchers and other supportive documents.”

The committee further said that out of N140 million training funds received by SUBEB from UBEC in 2012, N132million was withdrawn under false claim of training 265 education managers.

“The Director of Primary Education testified before the committee that no training was conducted; rather the money was misappropriated without justifiable reasons.

“The committee also observed that the Chairman, Zamfara state SUBEB connived with the Director Primary Education and transferred N72.3million in to his personal account no 2014082999 with First bank,’’ the report said.

Other accounts where fraud was uncovered include UNICEF and ETF intervention accounts under which the sums of N41.2million and N42.7million respectively were alleged to have been misappropriated.

The chairman was also indicted by the committee for non remittance of about N20million as revenues accrued from contracts tax and deductions for National Housing Fund, Zakkat and others into the board’s account.

“Due to excessive misappropriation and misconduct of public funds entrusted upon the present Chairman, Murtala Jangebe, the committee does not have trust in him to administer the Zamfara state Universal Basic Education Board,’’ the report added.

“As a result, the committee recommends that prosecution be made for criminal disregard to laid down financial regulations for all those found guilty through the state attorney general.’’